


Aftershocks

by st_mick



Series: Niffler [4]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling, Torchwood
Genre: After-effects of cruciatus curse, Hurt/Comfort, Ianto with his guard down, M/M, There's someone who Luna finds odd, Three friends in a bed
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-16
Updated: 2019-02-16
Packaged: 2019-10-29 08:32:50
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,161
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17804633
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/st_mick/pseuds/st_mick
Summary: For years, Ianto suppressed his memories of the cruciatus curse.  Now that he has remembered, he is experiencing painful aftershocks, until his system stabilizes.  Luna and Jack are there to comfort him through the process, and they learn things about him that they did not previously know.Luna realizes that Ianto never properly healed from the sectumsempra injuries he received during the battle, so she lets Draco know that Ianto will be requiring additional healing.





	Aftershocks

That night, Jack held Ianto tightly, the young Welshman’s back plastered against the older man’s chest.  Luna lay facing Ianto, holding his hand and whispering soothing words as the aftershocks caused his body to spasm in painful reminiscence of the curse.

“Jack,” Ianto whispered, reaching back to try to pull his lover even closer.

“I’m here, Ianto.”

“Gnnnhhh,” he gritted as another spasm wracked his body.

“You’re safe, Nif,” Luna whispered.  “This will pass.  You just need to endure for a while longer.  The aftershocks will pass, I promise.”

“When?” Ianto panted as his body was released from the spasm.  He took long, slow deep breaths, following Jack’s lead.  “Need to know… how long… to expect.”

“Another day and a half,” Luna replied.

Ianto nodded.  He had a goal, now.  Endure for thirty-six more hours.  He absently rubbed at one of the scars on his abdomen.

“Does it hurt?” Luna asked.

“Does what hurt?”

“Your scar.  You were just rubbing it, like it was aching.”

“It is.  But it usually does,” Ianto shrugged.  “They all do.  Even the ones that don’t show.”

“What do you mean?” she asked, her eyes wide and curious.

“Doesn’t matter,” Ianto said, shrugging again.

Jack caught the frustrated look in Luna’s eye and decided to answer.  “He got slashed open by some sort of nasty spell.  Spectrum… something.”

“You mean _sectumsempra_?” she asked, aghast.

“How did you know that?” Ianto asked, turning his head to look at Jack.

“Toshiko pulled up the footage of the battle.  The drone had ringside seats.”

“Oh.”

“Did you perform the counter spell?”

“Didn’t know it.  But I had a bottle of Dittany.  Took the whole damned thing, and didn’t even close these up,” he gestured to the scars.  “Sometimes it feels like they never actually healed,” he muttered. 

Jack was certain Ianto never would have confessed such a thing, had he not been exhausted and in pain from the aftershock spasms.  He saw Luna chewing her lip thoughtfully.

“In what way?” she finally asked.  “Is it a sharp pain, like when you first received the injuries?  Or is it more of a dull ache, like you sometimes hear old injuries do?”

“Sometimes both,” Ianto yawned.

“Nif, you’re exhausted.  Why don’t you try to sleep?”

“Kind of feel another one coming,” he answered.  Within seconds, his body was bowing, causing him to cry out.  When his body relaxed, he collapsed back against Jack, breathing harshly.

He slept for a while, once he calmed.  The night was a restless one, with Jack and Luna catching naps when Ianto was able to sleep.  But he did not stay asleep more than an hour at a time before being plagued by the painful spasms that wracked his body.

It was near dawn, and Jack and Luna were dozing when Ianto woke, thirsty.  He did not want to disturb them, so he watched his friend sleep, for a while.  She seemed as placid and happy as ever, but he knew the nightmares and memories that robbed her sleep of rest, almost as well as he knew his own.

The bunker was surprisingly cozy that morning, and with the three of them, including Jack the furnace, sharing the bed, they were all lying on top of the covers.  Jack and Ianto only wore their boxers, and Luna was wearing a pair of boy shorts and a tank top vest, both printed with…

Ianto tried not to chuckle, but his smile seemed to pull Luna from sleep.  “How do you feel?” she asked, stretching.

“Tired and sore,” he replied, his voice hoarse.  “You?”

“Just a bit tired.  But I’ll be all right.”

“Hey, Luna?”

“Yes, Nif?”

“Are those Hippogriffs on your…”

He was interrupted by Jack’s chuckle.  “Now, Ianto, is that a polite question to ask?”

“I believe it’s more polite than taking a closer look, Sir.”

“Is that some sort of kink for you two, the ‘Sir’ thing?” Luna asked with her usual wide-eyed expression that made Jack wonder how she could know anything about kinks.

“Yes,” Jack answered, at the same time that Ianto said, “No.”

Luna giggled.  Ianto smiled and gave her a wink.

“Yes, to answer your question.  They are hippogriffs.  Rolf gave them to me.”

“Rolf?” Ianto raised an eyebrow.  “Do I know this Rolf person?”

“I don’t think so,” she answered, either not hearing or simply ignoring the protective tone in his voice.  “Rolf Scamander.  My fiancé.”

“Wait.  You’re engaged?” Ianto’s eyes grew large.  “How can you be engaged, and I’ve not even met the guy?”

“The same way you’ve been seeing Jack for ages, now, and I’ve only spent any time with him, because of this,” she replied, the closest her tone ever came to being testy. 

Ianto drew back.  He knew he had been withdrawing, but he couldn’t seem to help it.  He realized now that it was the bleed-through of the after-effects of the curse being suppressed, but he still felt sorry for missing so much in his friends’ lives.  “I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be.  You couldn’t help it,” she hesitated.  “It’s just, I didn’t even know you liked men.  That seems like it would be something I should have known.”

“Well, I don’t,” he replied, before Luna’s raised eyebrow caused him to amend his statement.  “At least, I never have, before.”  He shrugged.  “It’s just Jack.”

“So I guess it came as a bit of a surprise,” a smile was twitching at the corners of her mouth as she saw Jack’s fond expression.

“And then some.  He’s not even my type!” he replied, his eyes wide.

“Sitting right here,” Jack protested, causing Ianto and Luna to laugh.

“Wait,” Ianto said, a moment later.  “Scamander… as in?”

“Yes, he is Newt Scamander’s grandson.”

“And?”

“And what?”

“Have you met him?  What’s he like?  Newt Scamander?”

“Honestly, I found him… a bit odd,” Luna said.

Jack felt Ianto fill like a balloon, trying not to respond to Luna’s assessment of her fiancé’s grandfather.  It did not keep him from chuckling into Ianto’s neck, and he knew Ianto would be cross for that, later.

“Odd?  How?”  If Ianto’s voice squeaked a bit, it could be put down to his current state of health, he thought.  Luna did not seem to notice, at least.

“Oh, not in a bad way,” she smiled.  “He is much less odd than Mr. Ollivander, for instance.”

“And how is Mr. Ollivander?” Ianto asked, relieved to be back on safe ground, once more.  He felt Jack’s breath huff against his neck in another snicker, and only just refrained from elbowing him.

“He is quite well.  His apprentice’s wands are reputed to be surpassed only by his own, so the business will be in good hands, when he finally chooses to fully retire.”

The conversation stalled as Ianto was taken by another spasm.  When he calmed, he asked for some water.

Luna left when Susan arrived.  She took Ianto’s keys so she could let out his owl, and she promised to return later to spend the night again.  Susan seemed well pleased with Ianto’s general health and wellbeing, though she was concerned that he was getting dehydrated, and could not be persuaded to eat.  Owen arrived soon after with an IV.  She watched him set it up, dubious, but fascinated.

Jack asked Owen to watch over things in the hub and stayed with Ianto after Susan left.  They talked and slept, and Jack soothed Ianto through each painful aftershock.  Owen brought down lunch, and then dinner, but Ianto was too tired to sit up and too unsettled by the pain to eat.  Harry, Ron and Hermione visited in the evening, and Luna arrived just as they were leaving.

That night was even worse than the first.  At one point, Jack wondered if they should try to track down Draco or Susan.  But Luna seemed certain that nothing was amiss, so they endured the night. 

Deep in the night, Ianto pulled Jack close to him once more, and Luna held his hand as he sobbed in relief as another spasm ended.  “Please, gods,” he began swearing in Welsh.  “I don’t know how much more I can stand.”

“It shouldn’t be much longer,” Luna said, her eyes filled with tears.

Ianto calmed his breathing before reaching out and catching a tear before it fell.  “Don’t cry, Moon-bug,” he whispered, “I’ll be all right.”

Jack kissed the back of Ianto’s neck.  He couldn’t be all right for his own sake, but he would, for his friend.  This was one of many reasons why Ianto Jones was going to break Jack’s heart.

“See?” Ianto said bracingly.  “Already be..nggghh,” he arched back in Jack’s arms again, but for a shorter duration, this time.  “Bloody hell,” he rasped, unable to control the tremors that shook his body.

Jack kissed and soothed.  Luna held his hand and whispered beautiful nonsense.  At one point, Jack sang.  Ianto interrupted him as he began one particular song.

“Don’t like that one?” Jack asked, surprised.  He thought Ianto would enjoy the traditional Welsh folk song.

“My father used to sing it,” he said quietly.  From his tone, Jack did not get the impression that Ianto was being sentimental.

“I never liked him,” Luna said bluntly.

“You never met him,” Ianto pointed out reasonably.  His tone was all amusement, and held no rancor.

“Didn’t need to,” Luna sniffed.

Ianto chuckled.  “He wasn’t so bad, when he was sober,” he quipped.

Luna’s eyes widened.  This was new territory.  Ianto never spoke directly of these things.  The few things she knew she had gleaned by making dramatic remarks, as she just had.  “Was he bad when he was drunk, then?” she asked quietly, hoping he would open up, a bit more.

Ianto shrugged a shoulder.  “Firewhisky made him mean.  And it was his favorite.  If I couldn’t get away, he’d beat the shit out of me.”  Ianto felt Jack pull him closer, almost protectively.  “That’s how I took up with a crowd that taught me to be a thief,” he chuckled, though his voice was bitter as he concluded, “running away from me tad.”

He shrugged again.  “Not entirely his fault.”  When Luna bristled, he continued.  “I mean, his tad was… not a nice man.  Was quite a powerful wizard, old Theodophilus Jones.  Supporter of Grindelwald, so that should tell you everything you need to know.  That his only son was a squib… well, let’s just say the apple didn’t fall far, when it came to father-son relations in the Jones family.  And I can only imagine.  Being a squib, and being punished for it, my entire life, and then _my_ only son ends up a wizard.  Guess I’d be bitter, too.”

“But that wasn’t _your_ fault, Ianto.”

“Didn’t say it was.  Just say I get it, that he was bitter.  It was so weird, though.  Because me mam, she was just as happy, being a squib.  Loved her life, even though it took so much effort to turn a blind eye to _him_ …” he sighed. 

“And Rhiannon?” Jack asked quietly.  He had learned more about Ianto in the last two days than in the entire last two years.  His mind was reeling, and yet he hungered to know even more.

“Rhi…  She’s jealous.  She would’ve loved to be a witch.  I sometimes think I should have been the squib.”

“Why?” Luna asked, baffled.

“For all I get to use my magic,” his face crumpled.  “Gods, I miss it, Luna.  I feel like how they say a person misses a limb, when it’s been cut off.”  He openly wept for several minutes, until another aftershock made him cry out in pain. 

When he calmed, he spoke again.  “When Lisa…  When the thing that had taken over Lisa was killed, I could barely contain it.  Without my wand, it was shooting out, everywhere.  It looked like electrical shorts in the systems, but it was my magic, gone haywire.  If I’d had my wand, I could have controlled it, but…” he sobbed again.

“It’s all right,” Luna soothed.

“No, Luna,” he sobbed, shaking his head.  “Nothing about that night will ever be all right.  And…  And I knew I’d be found out if I couldn’t rein it in, so I pulled it so far in, and…  gods, it hurt _so much_ ,” he whispered. 

“It felt like having my insides slashed by lightning bolts.  It was agony, but I just had to keep moving.”  Jack pulled Ianto closer, hoping the younger man didn’t feel his tears.  “Draco had to give me a potion for a month to fix the internal damage it did,” he confessed.

“I’m going to get your wand back for you, Ianto.  I swear it,” Luna’s voice was strong and steady, with none of the faraway sound that normally characterized it.  Jack knew she would be keeping that promise.

As though conjured by the anguish of the last quarter hour’s conversation, the next aftershock was devastating.  By morning, Ianto collapsed into a sleep so deep that it seemed more like unconsciousness.  Owen declared it exhaustion and Draco did not disagree, when he arrived to examine his patient.

“When was the last aftershock?”

“Around four,” Jack answered.  “It was the worst, yet.  He passed out, when it was done.  We,” he eyed Luna, who was looking placidly back at him, “decided to see if he woke all right before coming to find you.”

“He woke about a quarter hour later,” Luna said.  “He was not very coherent, but it seemed to just be fatigue.”

Draco tried to imagine what the argument between the two had sounded like, but gave it up as a lost cause.  Honestly, it was a close call, either way.  He would not have complained, if they had summoned him.  He continued to mutter incantations with his wand, watching for the symbols that glowed, showing him how his friend was faring.

“He seems to be through the worst of it,” he said.  He placed a hand on Ianto’s shoulder and gave it a squeeze.  “Hey, Nif?  Wake up.”  At Ianto’s moan of protest, he continued.  “You can go right back to sleep, but it’s time for your potion.  Come on, now.  Wake up.”

With Jack’s help, Ianto sat up, but he was still barely coherent.  He drank the potion and fell back onto the bed, exhausted.

“Draco, there’s something you should know,” Luna said, biting her lip.

“What is it, Luna?” Draco reached out and squeezed her arm, wondering why she seemed nervous, all of a sudden.

“Ianto…  Someone used the _sectumsempra_ curse on him, during the battle.”

“I remember,” Draco nodded.

Her eyes widened, but she continued, “The only thing ever done for it was Dittany.  He…  His scars never healed properly.  They still pain him.”

“What?” he whirled around and threw back the sheet that was covering Ianto’s body.

“What?” Ianto echoed in a tired voice.  “What’s wrong?”  He looked around, confused, and his eyes landed on Jack.  “Do you need coffee, Sir?”

Jack knelt by the head of the bed, running his hand through Ianto’s hair.  “Everything’s fine, Ianto.  You just need some rest.”

“M’cold,” Ianto said, almost plaintively.  It was the closest Jack had ever heard him come to voicing a complaint.

Draco had been staring at the scars on Ianto’s abdomen and thighs in horror.  He reached down and covered Ianto with the sheet and blanket before turning away.  “I thought he knew to have them treated.  It looks like…”

“Like he just let them heal, like someone used to healing like a muggle,” Luna finished for him.  “It’s not your fault, Draco.  And it’s not his, either.  Neither of you knew.  But we know now, and I think you and Susan should fix it.”

Draco nodded.  He looked at Jack.  “We should take care of this, today.  Susan and I will return this afternoon.  We would appreciate the use of your… facilities,” he said.  After seeing Jack’s nod, he turned and disapparated.

“Take care of what?” Jack asked, concerned.

Luna led him to the conference room, where Martha and Tosh had brought breakfast and coffee.  Once settled with food, she spoke to Jack, with the rest of the team listening closely.

“Ianto is not muggle-born, but he might as well be.  Both of his parents were squibs.” 

“He mentioned that, last night, but I didn’t understand what he meant,” Jack said.

“Just as two muggles can produce a witch or wizard, a witch and wizard can sometimes produce a child with little or no magic.  They are called squibs.”

“That doesn’t sound very nice, now does it?” Owen complained.

“You call Ianto ‘Tea-Boy’,” Luna sniffed with a finality that said that Owen had no call to complain about what anyone else called anything else.

“So when he was hit with the _sectumsempra_ curse,” she began, but Owen interrupted her again.

“What exactly did it do?  It looked like it slashed him open, but was it clean, like with a knife or a sword, or ragged, like being ripped open, or somewhere in between?”

Luna blinked.  “Like a sword,” she said quietly.  “The curse… well, sometimes the injuries can be permanent.”

“But his scars are old and well-healed,” Jack pointed out.

“He used Dittany to heal them, but you heard what he said.  They _feel_ like they never healed.  They still pain him, sometimes as though he just received them.  That means they never healed completely.”

“So what’s Malfoy going to do about that?” Jack asked.

Luna toyed with her food.  “He and Susan will have to reopen all of the wounds, and then heal them properly, using the _Vulnera Sanentur_ counter-curse.”

Jack swore.  Tosh and Gwen looked worried.  Owen and Martha looked morbidly fascinated.

“And I suppose this is all meant to be done without any benefit of anesthesia or painkillers,” Jack seethed.

Luna didn’t look up, but tears streaked her face.  “It’s why the curse is such a horrible one,” she cried.  “But we can’t let him go on, just letting it _hurt_.  Not when they can cure him.”

“Why today?  Why not let him rest?”

“Because he will recover better, and more quickly, with rest.  And he will rest better, once he is healed.”

Jack was about to say something harsh and angry, but he looked at Luna.  At the face of the kind young woman who had just shared two nights of agony with him and Ianto.  She had done everything in her power to lighten Jack’s load, and to ease Ianto’s suffering.  She looked tired and miserable.

He stood and walked over to her, and pulled her to her feet.  “Hey,” he said.  “I know it’s not your fault.  I just…”

“Can’t stand to see him suffer,” Luna nodded.  “Nor can I,” she whispered.  “Nif is my best friend.  He helped me, after…” she trailed off.  “But I do believe this will help him, once it is done.”

“Then that’s all I need to know,” Jack said, hugging her. 

***


End file.
